The Search for "Deadbeat" Parents Gets Unique New Assistance

I decided to do an opinion piece on this subject for a couple of reasons, with the biggest reason being that an initiative as bold and creative as this needs all the support and exposure it can get, and I am more than happy to help that process along.

In Butler County, just north of Cincinnati the Executive Director of Butler County's Child Enforcement Agency, Cynthia Brown deserves a huge "Thank you" for not only coming up with this very unique and bold new way of tracking down those parents that seem to feel that if their family unit dissolves , so does their obligations to the children that it had produced.

Brown said that when she first discussed the idea of putting small versions of the agency posters with pictures of parents wanted for "non support" on pizza boxes, he told her to take a vacation, but I have to say that the deeper I got into this story, the more I thought that once the most brilliant ideas seem to always be the ones right under our noses.

Think about it, people running from legal responsibilities rarely put themselves out in the open too often, but would inclined to "order in" quite a bit, which means pizza to a large degree. Imagine their surprise when they see their own face on the box of their delivered-to-the-door dinner, or maybe the sickening feeling they might be feeling when the pizza delivery leaves their home and makes several other stops in the same neighborhood delivering their face to each of those homes as well.

The information on the posters that has made its way onto the boxes includes 10 mug shots of both men and women as well as their physical description. This description also includes birth dates, the amount of money that is owed and most importantly a last known address. This to me is a key component as if someone is on the run, they may be vague or evasive about telling new neighbors where exactly they are from, but might not think to fabricate the city or state altogether.